tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34668481089362986172024-03-14T06:51:34.308-04:00The Intersection of Scripture and PrayerA collection of sermons from an Episcopal priest, a dad, a husband, a son, a brother, and a child of God.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-85158600884466441432017-01-01T15:13:00.000-05:002017-01-01T15:13:28.045-05:00Tradition!
The Feast of the Holy Name
The University of Tennessee’s football season came to an
end on Friday evening with a 38-24 victory
over the University of Nebraska. In case you don’t me that well, I grew up in
Knoxville, going to Tennessee games with my dad. And even though I attended
college at Middle
Tennessee State Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-17188537997395120782016-12-04T21:11:00.000-05:002016-12-04T21:28:44.549-05:00Plowing the FieldAdvent 2A, December 4, 2016
In 1942, Clarence Jordan and his wife Florence, along with another couple (Morton and Mable England) began what they affectionately called a “Demonstration plot for the Kingdom of God.” It was a farm in Americus, Georgia, about 130 miles due south of Atlanta on US Hwy 19. Koinonia Farm as it came to be called was, essentially, a commune. But the people who came Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-22025797258340428472016-10-02T11:41:00.000-04:002016-10-03T09:42:07.660-04:00Faith is an Action VerbProper 22C, Year B
Yes, it's a noun, too. But for faith to really work, it has to be a verb. An action verb.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-19145043073385332212016-09-11T12:20:00.000-04:002016-09-12T12:22:12.205-04:00The story we tellProper 19CSeptember 11, 2016
I should begin with a disclaimer of brutal honesty: I don't really like using the letters of the Apostle Paul in my sermons. One, it can get kind of confusing to talk about someone with the same name as you, and two, I find the non-Pauline epistles (Hebrews, James, 1st, 2nd, 3rd John) to have a more timeless and practical message since so much of Paul's Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-61868022735232820302016-07-24T17:36:00.000-04:002016-07-24T17:36:09.407-04:00On Jesus & Prayer
Proper 12, Year C
During my last year of seminary, I had the honor of serving at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. It’s a parish with a long history of making a difference in the lives of those in the community around them. They are also known for being very orthodox in the Episcopal/Anglican tradition, and yet, having some very unorthodox Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-68283542008147182402016-07-17T22:43:00.002-04:002016-07-17T22:43:25.381-04:00Martha & Mary—Both/And, not Either/OrThe 9thSunday after Pentecost
On the third Monday of each month, Christ Church provides a worship service at HomePlace and McCarthy Court, over on McCarthy Boulevard. Jane and Melinda assist me over there, and we make a great team. There was a woman who lived at Home Place, a dear, sweet woman, who would warmly greet us when we arrived, and thank us profusely for coming when we left. She Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-12739943246242872692016-05-08T20:10:00.000-04:002016-05-09T20:11:18.545-04:00YOU are a Child of God
Easter 7, Year C
On a warm, clear,
picture-perfect Monday afternoon just two weeks ago, the Most Rev. Michael
Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, took to this pulpit to walk
with us, teach us, about the Jesus Movement. He’s been on this theme of Jesus
Movement for a while, so he’s had plenty of time to hone the message and adapt
it to whatever audience might be listening. HisAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-10336108151210187312016-04-20T22:38:00.003-04:002016-04-20T22:38:18.790-04:00How to be HereHow to Be Here: A Guide to Creating a Life Worth Living by Rob Bell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Good stuff to ponder on paying attention to where you are, who you are with, and what it is that feeds your soul. He lets his faith show through his work without letting the words overpower what God has given him to share. He puts in just enough quotes and Scripture references to remind you that what Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-58980118046484417692016-04-17T22:33:00.000-04:002016-04-21T07:31:16.818-04:00What are you look for? Easter 4, Year C
I was leading a mission trip several years ago, and we got to about Thursday of the week, which if you’ve ever traveled with a large group of people, you know that’s about the time when you’ve all had just about enough “togetherness.” So, I gave everyone the 5-minute warning before we left for the day, which was also when I realized that I could not find the keys to theAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-35661427617658646632016-03-27T19:24:00.001-04:002016-03-27T19:25:43.787-04:00The McKinnons, the Montoyas, and the Power of the ResurrectionEaster 2016
Luke 24:1-12
To support the Montoya family, click here.
There is this crazy phenomenon with people who have too much time on their hands and easy access to high speed internet. There are these montages, usually of sports events where someone piece together all the short videos people have taken on their cell phones of that awesome play or that last second shot. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-11744808313908953642016-03-06T22:07:00.001-05:002016-03-06T22:07:52.195-05:00Sinners and tax collectors
Lent 4, Year C, RCL
Each Monday before I preach, I dig in to the Scriptures of the day. I prefer to do that from a Bible because I think it's important to know what happens on either side of the Scripture reading we hear read in worship. As I'm reading it, I have a bit of an internal dialogue as I ponder the Scripture and this important question: What does the Holy Spirit want the people Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0320 Pollock St, New Bern, NC 28560, USA35.1072256 -77.039158835.106413599999996 -77.0404193 35.1080376 -77.0378983tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-3640250005787232652016-01-10T15:09:00.002-05:002016-01-10T15:44:35.299-05:00Every start has a beginning
The First Sunday after the Epiphany
Everything
has a starting point. The road trip. The swim meet. The concert. The ministry
to which God has called us. Everything has that defining moment where we can
say, “It started here.”
The
key goes in the ignition, and the car pulls out of the driveway. The sound is
heard, and the swimmers dive into the water. The first note gets played to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-66472543745055271362015-12-13T15:09:00.000-05:002015-12-13T15:09:29.457-05:00Be better where you are
Advent 3, Year C
So, John the Baptist… I imagine he’d be the real “life of
the party” if he showed up. People would start hearing things about “vipers”
and “axes at the roots of the trees,” and they’d look around say, “Who invited
that guy!?” He message stands in contrast to our other Scripture readings
today, too. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-51011126149117519912015-11-22T21:30:00.000-05:002015-11-23T21:31:24.633-05:00What's in a Title
Christ the King Sunday, Year B
Juliet
said to Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name
would smell just as sweet.”<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]-->
On a
day in which we celebrate Christ the King, it seems most appropriate to ask:
What’s in a name, or rather, what’s in a title? We call Jesus by many titles:
Christ. Messiah. Savior. Lord. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-15196377366118374872015-11-08T19:23:00.004-05:002015-11-08T19:23:56.465-05:00God's Unexpected Route
Proper 27, Year B
“Unless
the Lord builds the house, their
labor is in vain who build it.” – Psalm 172:1
For 300 years, the Lord has been building a house, here
at the corner of Pollock & Middle Streets in downtown New Bern. I am
certain that there were times when the labor of the people working with God was
in vain Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-79747070543267184272015-10-25T19:59:00.001-04:002015-10-25T20:30:20.217-04:00Bartimaeus & Our Call as ChristiansProper 25B, RCL
A
group of us have been exploring the Gospel of Mark, both on Sunday mornings at
10am and on Wednesdays at 11am. We have often marveled at all of the amazing
ways Jesus heals people. Sometimes he lays hands on them; sometimes he wipes
spit in their eyes or he touches their ears. Many times, the person who is sick
isn’t even present, but it’s the faith of the one who asks Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-22873266546812585392015-09-27T16:50:00.000-04:002015-09-27T16:50:30.510-04:00Jesus, James, and Christian CommunityProper 21, Year B
There are several different versions of this story, and
you may have heard one of them before. Our 3rd, 4th, and
5th graders even experienced this story last week in Sunday School. It
goes a little like this:
An old, wise prophet Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-77510236138830146422015-08-30T14:52:00.002-04:002015-08-30T14:52:26.180-04:00Interfaith Refugee MinistriesProper 17, Year B, RCL
Each year, the Diocese of East Carolina designates various Sundays to highlight ministries that are deeply woven into our common life. Today, we celebrate Interfaith Refugee Ministry. (Click here to read more; note that Christ Church celebrated a week early to avoid the Labor Day weekend.)
As Americans, we live in a fairly comfortable atmosphere. We might not always Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-86564168504022957672015-08-09T15:11:00.000-04:002015-08-09T15:11:30.809-04:00What feeds you?Proper 14, Year B
In case you’ve been on vacation or just not following the Gospel readings the past several weeks, Jesus has been talking a lot about bread. We’ve been immersed in the sixth chapter of John; in fact, we are in the middle of it right now. It all started two weeks ago with the feeding of the 5,000 from a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish, and it will continue twoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-34838816888204851592015-07-20T20:10:00.002-04:002015-07-20T20:10:30.100-04:00The Problem with PrayerProper 11, Year B, RCL (Track 1)
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our
necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have
compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those
things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our
blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit,Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-60822172516979872892015-07-05T15:06:00.000-04:002015-10-28T15:10:54.486-04:00Our Job as Christians... Proper 9, Year B, 2015
As
Christians, we have one job. And it’s in five parts. The five parts of our job
are defined in the Baptismal Covenant (Book
of Common Prayer, p. 304), said at every Baptism and Confirmation (and any
other time I can find a reason to use it).
Our job description is to continue in the Apostles’ teaching and
fellowship, in the prayers and in Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-14928311474473893282015-06-28T17:14:00.000-04:002015-06-28T17:14:34.012-04:00God has never been still...
Proper 8, Year B, RCL
June 28, 2015
On the occasion of using the
1662 Book of Common Prayer at Christ Church, New Bern
We find ourselves in a
different place today than we did last week. And a different place than we will
be a week from now. That’s Ok. Because God does not call us to be still or to
stay in one place. We are taking a trip in the way-back machine today to
celebrate our Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-22301093742663542302015-06-21T20:27:00.005-04:002015-06-22T10:25:14.130-04:00David wasn't an underdog, and Goliath still existsSunday, June 21, 2015
Proper 7, Year B, RCL
With thanks to Malcolm Gladwell.
In Memorium to Emmanuel AME in Charleston, SC.
"It's DAVID VERSUS GOLIATH!"
Every time I hear that phrase, I think it should be said in a Howard Cosell kind of voice. I would venture to say that it's one of the most common Biblical phrases uttered in a secular setting. In the modern era, we tend to use it more withAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-78475008811155606852015-04-26T20:53:00.002-04:002015-04-26T20:53:37.737-04:00The Interconnectedness of it all... and the sheep.Easter 4B
There is a familiarity and a boldness in Jesus' discourse on the Good Shepherd. And a throwback to Ezekiel, too! Click here for the audio.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466848108936298617.post-72433851106657555832015-04-12T20:54:00.000-04:002015-04-26T20:54:38.961-04:00Following Easter
Easter 2, Year B.
April 12, 2015
Click here for the audio.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122991641299464047noreply@blogger.com0